The industrial and logistics market in Romania recorded new lease deals for around 200,000 sqm in Q1, with most of the demand generated by manufacturers, FMCG and logistics operators, according to a Cushman & Wakefield Echinox report.
Romania was ranked second in the region on demand, after Poland surpassing Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.
Manufacturing companies had a share of 17% of the industrial leasing sector, overtaking for the first time logistics and FMCG players with shares of 10% and 13%, respectively.
The biggest deal in Q1 was the 19,000 sqm sale and leaseback of Tenneco’s spaces in Ploiești to WDP.
“We believe this trend will intensify in the coming period while the ongoing infrastructure projects will open up new areas for investments in industrial projects," said Ștefan Surcel, Head of Industrial Agency Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.
Demand was mainly concentrated in Romania's major logistics hubs, namely around Bucharest (50% of the total volume), Ploiești (10%) and Timișoara (6%), with companies also showing interest towards Iași, Craiova, Arad and Oradea.
In terms of new supply, only 50,000 sqm of new spaces were delivered in Q1 (compared with 100,000 sqm in the same period of 2023). The stock of industrial and logistics spaces reached 7.07 million sqm, with vacancy rates of 6.1% in Bucharest and 5.0% at regional level.
Developers currently have under construction projects with a total area of 500,000 sqm in various cities across the country, according to the report.
